It’s been a long, quiet year for most musicians and music organizations across the country, as performance halls were forced to close due to COVID-19.
Last summer, at the height of the pandemic, KCUR launched 91.9 Classical KC as a way to introduce 24-hour classical music back to Kansas City airwaves for the first time in more than 20 years. 📻
In hindsight, it was the perfect time to launch a classical station; as audiences turned to streaming concerts online in lieu of in-person concerts, Classical KC offered another alternative for audiences at home.
This month marks Classical KC’s first year on-air. 🎂 To celebrate, we’ll take a brief look at what’s in store for Kansas City’s classical music organizations, and how you can further explore KC’s unique classical music scene. 🎻
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As audiences wait for the upcoming 2021-22 season to begin, Classical KC's arts partners are offering a variety of events to close out the summer.
🔳 The Wires with Ensemble Iberica at Record Bar - July 30 at 7 p.m.
🎟️ $20. Find tickets here.
🔳 William Baker Festival Singers at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Lee's Summit - August 1 at 4:00 p.m.
🎟️ $20-$50. Find tickets here.
🔳 The Rolston String Quartet at Yardley Hall - August 4 at 7 p.m.
🎟️ $10 for adults, $5 for 18 and under. Find tickets here.
🔳 Missouri Music at 200: Music in the American Wild at Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center - August 6 at 7 p.m.
🎟️ Free admission. Learn more here.
🔳 KC VITAs Summer Series: On the Back of the Black at St. John's Methodist Church - August 6 at 7 p.m. & August 8 at 3 p.m.
🎟️ $10 at the door. Free for students. Learn more here.
🔳 Baroque Summer Series Grand Tour at Visitation Catholic Church - August 13 at 7:30 p.m.
🎟️ $40 in-person reserved seating; $25 in-person GA; virtual ticket $25. Find tickets here.
🔳 Bach Aria Soloists at Rose Garden in Loose Park - September 25 at 12:30 p.m.
🎟️ Free admission. Learn more here.
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| Looking Forward to the Fall
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Despite a recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases due to the more contagious Delta variant, Kansas City’s classical music organizations are looking forward to audiences returning to performance halls in the fall. That outlook includes new performances for the upcoming 2021-22 season by these Classical KC arts partners:
The Kansas City Symphony returns with an ambitious season and a full audience in Helzberg Hall on September 24. Billed as “a joyful return to great music retaking center stage,” the season opens with three performances of Mahler’s “Titan,” featuring American composer Gabriel Kahane’s world premiere piano concerto. 🎹 Tickets to this, as well as the rest of the Symphony’s season, can be purchased by calling the box office.
Kansas City Ballet opens its 2021-22 season with “Celts,” a fusion of Irish folk dance and ballet. 🩰 And, as a most welcome return to pre-COVID traditions, the Ballet is bringing “The Nutcracker'' back to Kauffman Performing Arts Center with performances starting December 3. Single tickets for both shows go on sale August 30.
The Lyric Opera of Kansas City launches its two-show mainstage season with one of two additional experiences — “Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood,” November 13-14. Tickets to this event, as well as tickets to the Lyric Opera’s full season, can be purchased online. 🎭
And, Friends of Chamber Music offers a preview of its 2021-22 season, which includes Benjamin Bagby’s “Beowulf” on October 29 and Stile Antico on December 9. See more of the lineup here.
Pro Tip: After a year away from concert halls, we have a feeling audiences will be quick to snag tickets to these shows — so you might consider buying tickets as soon as you can. 🎟️
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Kansas City audiences may be familiar with the monumental custom-built pipe organ at the heart of the Kauffman Center, but it’s just one of nearly 60 pipe organs in the Kansas City area. You’ll find some located in recital halls, but unsurprisingly, the vast majority of local pipe organs reside in churches, all ranging in size from modest to massive. ⛪
According to the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, the oldest pipe organ in the area dates back to 1869. The E. & G. G. Hook Opus 488 organ was originally installed in Woodside Presbyterian Church Troy in New York before making its way to Rainbow Mennonite Church in Kansas City, Kansas, in 2008.
The area’s newest (and shiniest ✨) pipe organ was installed in 2016 at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas. The massive, multi-million-dollar Opus 22 was designed with help from Grammy-winning organist Jan Kraybill, a traveling concert organist and organ conservator at the Kauffman Center.
KCUR contributor Julie Denesha caught up with Kraybill last May as she kept Helzberg Hall’s monumental 5,548-pipe organ in shape during the pandemic. Learn more about the custom-built Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ, Opus 3875.
Audiences in Kansas City can expand their appreciation of local pipe organs (and organists) at a number of upcoming events — including the 9th annual French Organ Music Festival on Sunday, August 22, 2-5 p.m. at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The event is open to the public with a suggested donation of $10.
You can also tune in to "Pipedreams," a program on 91.9 Classical KC Sunday evenings at 8 p.m.
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| Get Reacquainted With Kauffman Center
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Before the pandemic, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts offered guided tours of its spectacular performance halls. Visitors and small groups of 10 or less people could join public tours for $5 per person, or schedule a private tour for groups of 10 or more for $100. The Kauffman Center has canceled these tours for now, but you can gaze at the architectural wonder from your home thanks to interactive tours featured on Google Arts & Culture. 👀
You can embark on a 360-degree tour of Helzberg Hall, Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Brandmeyer Great Hall.
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Today's Creative Adventure email was written by Grace Lotz.
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| More Adventures in Kansas City
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|  | Festival of Butterflies at Powell Gardens
The 24th annual Festival of Butterflies at Powell Gardens begins this week. Explore the replica of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve and learn about the life cycle of the butterfly. 🦋 Tickets are on sale now.
| |  | "The Last Waltz" at Lemonade Park
This Wednesday at Lemonade Park, catch "The Last Waltz," a 1978 film by Martin Scorsese featuring performances by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and more. Next week, you can catch the 2019 film "Midsommar." Find tickets and learn more about upcoming shows.
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